Bruce makes history in Wood Ducks victory

Steven Bruce’s historic performance on the pitcher’s mound helped propel the Down East Wood Ducks (14-30 second half, 49-65 overall) to a big win Sunday in front of 1,306 fans at Historic Grainger Stadium.

Bruce, a 26-year-old non-drafted free agent, threw the first complete-game shutout in DEWD history in a 5-0 win against the first-place Winston-Salem Dash (25-16, 45).

Bruce’s effort came on a tidy 101-pitch effort in which he only gave up five hits, walked none and struck out six. The 6-foot, 190-pounder from Flower Mound, Texas, improved to 5-6 this season and lowered his season ERA from 3.49 to 3.09. He only reached a three-ball count once in the game and faced the minimum amount of batters from the third through the seventh innings.

The right-hander received good offensive support, too, as the Woodies scored four runs in the third inning and added another run one frame later. Anderson Tejeda hit a two-run home run in the third while Alex Kowalczyk added a solo shot in the fourth.

Kowalczyk was 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Andretty Cordero added two knocks in the Woodies’ eight-hit attack.

Winston-Salem southpaw John Parke had a solid effort despite picking up the loss. He finished with a career-high 10 strikeouts while giving up six hits, all five runs (all earned) and walking one to fall to 3-3.

The Wood Ducks are off on Monday but open a three-game set against the Buies Creek Astros on Tuesday at Historic Grainger Stadium. That game is scheduled for a first pitch at 7 p.m.; for ticket information, contact the Wood Ducks at 252-686-5170 or visit the team’s website at woodducksbaseball.com.